7
Second Declension Nouns (Module B)
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
Morphology: The Nominal System (Part 2)
Overview
7.0 Introduction, 7-1
7.1 Second Declension Feminine Nouns, 7-2
7.2 Second Declension Neuter Nouns, 7-7
7.3 Second Declension Paradigm Overview, 7-13
7.4 Review of Second Declension Nouns, 7-14
7.5 Flow Chart For Second Declension Nouns, 7-21
7.6 NTGreek Language Study Tools, 7-22
7.7 Vocabulary Study, 7-23
Study Guide, 7-25
7.0 Introduction
The acquisition of a new language is difficult. This difficulty is
compounded if it is not heard and spoken on a regular basis.
Because of these special challenges, it will take repeated
exposures to new elements of NTGreek grammar before it
is understood. Make no mistake about it; acquiring a new
language and the skills required is a daunting task! Any
grammar positing anything different is selling something.
Many enthusiastic students soon realize they are swimming—if not
perhaps drowning—in information. Out of frustration, they blame
themselves and think they are not intelligent enough or too old to tackle
Greek. What they do not realize is that this is the natural learning process.
Babies are at first engulfed in a sea of meaningless noise before they
gradually learn to detect and recognize meaningful sounds as words.
Instead of frustration, the proper response is to continue to be enthusiastic
and inquisitive about what you are learning just like a child!
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-2
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Those studying NTGreek on their own may become unsure what they are
learning, especially when there is no authoritative source in their
immediate vicinity to ask questions and gain needed reassurance that they
are on the right path. This uneasiness may continue until a “language
threshold” is achieved. When this will occur depends upon the individual
and the amount of time spent studying and practicing of the language.
However, if the student does not quit, this threshold will be crossed.
People have different levels of ability and different rates of progress. Be
encouraged! The God of creation delights in diversity and variety and
perfectionism is not a prerequisite to learn Greek. If perfectionism was a
requirement (or to write a Greek grammar), then we all should stop now!
Do not compare yourself with someone else’s ability; enjoy what you are
learning by keeping in mind the purpose for your language study.
Everyone needs God’s grace of perseverance to learn and understand the
Greek New Testament, especially this author.
7.1 Second Declension Feminine Nouns
Lesson Six introduced the Greek nominal system and noted that not all
nouns are inflected in the same manner. Those patterns which are alike or
nearly alike when inflected are grouped together into one of three
declensions, either first, second or third declension. A substantive’s
declension is determined by its stem termination, whether with a vowel
(first and second declension) or a consonant (third declension).
Any noun may correctly be called a substantive. A substantive
is an all-inclusive term for any part of speech that functions as a
noun. Other parts of speech other than nouns may also function
substantivally within a syntactical context, such as adjectives,
pronouns, participles, infinitives, and at times the article itself.
Nominal stems ending with the vowel omīkron belong to the second
declension. The great majority of these are masculine or neuter in gender.
However, over sixty nouns in the second declension are feminine. The
feminine case endings are introduced next before neuter second
declension nouns, because they are inflected in the same way as
masculine nouns of the same declension.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-3
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.1.1 Second declension feminine paradigm. The case endings for all
(uncontracted) second declension feminine nouns are indicated below in
red for easier identification. Summary comments concerning their
formation follow which are identical to (uncontracted) masculine nouns of
the same declension. The feminine noun,  serves as the n-2b
paradigm. These case endings may be used with any feminine noun in the
Vocabulary Study of this lesson.
Listen
(road, way, journey, conduct)  + case ending
n-2b
Cases
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Singular
Plural
Article
Noun
Article
Noun





 1
 2
 4

 6






 3

 5
 7
1. All case endings are appended to the nominative singular stem. The
nominative singular form is the lexical form for all forms of the
paradigm. This is true for all nouns, regardless of declension.
2. The actual case form ending is omīkron. However due to the undesired
combination with the stem vowel omīkron, contraction occurs.
3. The stem vowel omīkron has been irregularly absorbed by the ōmega,
and not because of contraction as in the genitive singular.
4. At some time during the morphological development of the dative
singular case ending, the stem vowel omīkron lengthened to ōmega,
with the iōta retained as an iōta subscript.
5. The actual case ending is . However, nū drops out when
immediately followed by sigma because of phonology. The stem vowel
omīkron is lengthened to  to compensate for the loss of the nū.
6. The epsīlon irregularly replaces the stem vowel omīkron.
7. The vocative and nominative plural share case endings. Context
(function), and not form, determines meaning.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-4
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
It should be carefully observed that the inflectional endings used for
second declension masculine nouns are identical to second declension
feminine nouns, except that the feminine gender of the noun is indicated
by the appropriate feminine article. The determining factor between these
two genders is lexical. Gender cannot be predicted in nouns!
The identical case endings of masculine and feminine second declension
nouns may be easily seen with a side-by-side comparison.
Singular
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative





Singular





Plural
Plural










7.1.2 Agreement. When any modifiers, such as an article, modify second
declension feminine nouns, they too are feminine. The reason for this is
grammatical concord. Because of the necessity of grammatical concord,
all modifiers must be inflected to correspond to the substantive it modifies
grammatically. Therefore, the article is always aligned in case, gender,
and number to the case, gender, and number of the substantive.
Grammatical discord like  or  will never be encountered in
NTGreek, because in both of these examples, the noun’s gender is
feminine and the article is masculine. Only the masculine article may
modify masculine substantives, and the feminine article, feminine
substantives. It will become evident as the lessons progress that concord
plays a larger role in NTGreek than in English because of its highly
developed inflected morphological system.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-5
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.1.3 Lexical form. The lexical form of second declension feminine
nouns, like their masculine counterparts, is the nominative singular form.
The nominative singular form
is the lexical entry, followed
by the genitive singular, and
then the article.
The above lexical citation is from A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (1979:553).
The lexical form for all nouns is their nominative singular form.
The Greek-English lexicon lists only one form for each word rather
than all the forms of every paradigm. For example, if the form
 is encountered in the Greek text, one would have to know
that  comes from  in order to look up the word’s
definition. This is similar for looking up a word in an English
dictionary. For example, to look up the definition for “women”,
one would have to know that this plural noun is from the singular
“woman” to find its definition. Therefore, the recommended
method to learn the gender of a Greek noun is to memorize
always the gender of the definite article which is grammatically
associated with its nominative singular form. The gender of any
noun should not be assumed.
7.1.4 Stems of second declension feminine nouns. Except for one
irregular second declension feminine form, all stems of second declension
feminine nouns terminate with an omīkron. Their vocalic stem termination
is identical to second declension (uncontracted) masculine nouns. The
appropriate case endings are added to the omīkron stem according to the
noun’s grammatical function in the sentence.
7.1.5 Case function. Translation of case function is independent of a
substantive’s gender. Therefore, the manner in which the different cases
are translated will be identical, regardless if the substantive is masculine,
feminine, or neuter, or to which declension a substantive belongs (first,
second, or third). The masculine and feminine nouns on the next page
illustrate the translation of case function. If a substantive is in the
nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, or the vocative case, it will be
translated the same whether the gender is masculine or feminine.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Only Singular Forms Exemplified
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-6
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Case
Gender
Word
Nominative
Masculine
“the man”
Masculine









Feminine

“(O) road”
Feminine
Genitive
Masculine
Feminine
Dative
Masculine
Feminine
Accusative
Masculine
Feminine
Vocative
Translation
“the road”
“of the man”
“of the road”
“to the man”
“to the road”
“the man”
“the road”
“(O) man”
7.1.6 Declension-Paradigm notation. Except for one contracted
feminine noun, all second declension feminine nouns are designated as n2b. This differentiates it from the masculine paradigm of the second
declension whose designation is n-2a.
7.1.7 Second declension feminine paradigms. The following two
paradigms are further examples of second declension feminine nouns.
The feminine article is properly shown with its inflected noun, agreeing in
case, gender, and number, in both the singular and the plural.
Listen
(scroll, book, record-book)  + case ending
n-2b
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Singular




or 
Plural







© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-7
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Listen
(language, dialect)  + case ending
n-2b
Singular

Genitive 
Dative 
Accusative 
Nominative
Vocative
Plural




or   
It will take some mental training to think of these inflectional endings also
as feminine forms. In many cases where these nouns occur in NTGreek,
the article or another modifier will indicate the gender of these nouns.
From the outset, the best way to avoid becoming confused between the
gender of masculine and feminine nouns is to memorize and associate the
Greek article with its nominative singular form in the lesson’s vocabulary.
A comprehensive list of all second declension feminine nouns is available.
For this list, please consult the study aids for this lesson.
7.2 Second Declension Neuter Nouns
NTGreek vocabulary includes over two hundred neuter second declension
nouns. These nouns are approximately thirty percent of all second
declension nouns (about sixty percent are masculine).
Like all (uncontracted) masculine and feminine nouns of the second
declension, neuter nouns are composed of a stem that terminates with an
omīkron. To this vocalic stem, the case endings are appended. However,
unlike the identical case endings which masculine and feminine nouns
share, neuter nouns have distinctive case endings in the nominative,
accusative, and vocative singular and plural.
7.2.1 Second declension neuter paradigm. The case endings for all
second declension neuter nouns are indicated below in red for easier
identification. Summary comments concerning their formation immediately
follow the paradigm. The neuter noun,  serves as the n-2c
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-8
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
paradigm. These case endings may be used for any neuter noun in the
Vocabulary Study of this lesson.
Listen
(work, deed, action)  + case ending
n-2c
Singular
Article
Noun
Article
Noun




 1
 3, 7
 5, 7
 1
 1, 6





 2
 4, 7
 7
 2
 2, 6
Cases
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Plural

1. The neuter nominative, accusative, and vocative singular and
plural forms are identical. This is different from n-2a/n-2b second
declension vocative singular nouns that normally exhibit a
separate form than its nominative singular. The context in which
the neuter noun occurs determines its grammatical function.
2. In the nominative, accusative, and vocative plural forms, the
omīkron has been irregularly absorbed by the alpha (and not
because of contraction). The final alpha is pronounced short in
all neuter nominative, vocative, and accusative plural noun forms.
3. As in second declension masculine and feminine nouns, the
actual case ending is omīkron. However due to the undesired
combination with the stem vowel omīkron, contraction occurs.
4. As in second declension masculine and feminine nouns, the stem
vowel omīkron has been irregularly absorbed by the ōmega, and
not because of contraction as in the genitive singular.
5. At some time during the morphological development of the dative
singular case ending, the stem vowel omīkron lengthened to
ōmega, with the iōta retained as an iōta subscript.
6. The neuter vocative singular and plural case forms are identical
to the nominative case endings.
7. The neuter second declension nouns are identical with the
masculine and feminine case forms in the genitive and dative, in
both the singular and the plural. It is important, therefore, to learn
the gender of each noun as they are encountered.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-9
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Observe that the inflectional endings used for second declension neuter
nouns are NOT identical to second declension masculine and feminine
nouns. The case endings may be compared between these two groups
with a convenient side-by-side comparison.
Singular
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Masculine & Feminine
Neuter




 or 





Plural
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Masculine & Feminine
Neuter










7.2.2 Lexical form. The lexical entry for second declension neuter nouns,
like the masculine and feminine forms, is the nominative singular form,
followed by its genitive singular, and then the article.
7.2.3 Stems of second declension neuter nouns. The stems of second
declension neuter nouns terminate with an omīkron just like the masculine
and feminine second declension nouns. The appropriate case endings are
added to the vocalic stem according to the noun’s grammatical function in
the sentence.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-10
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.2.4 Case function. Translation of case function is independent of a
substantive’s gender. Therefore, the manner in which the different cases
are translated will be identical, regardless if the substantive is masculine,
feminine, or neuter, or to which declension a substantive belongs (first,
second, or third). The three genders are compared below to illustrate their
translation of case function. If a substantive is in the nominative, genitive,
dative, accusative, or the vocative case, it will be translated the same
whether the gender is masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Case
Gender
Word
Nominative
Masculine















Feminine
Neuter
Only Singular Forms Exemplified
Genitive
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Dative
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Accusative
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Vocative
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
Translation
“the man”
“the road”
“the work”
“of the man”
“of the road”
“of the work”
“to the man”
“to the road”
“to the work”
“the man”
“the road”
“the work”
“(O) man”
“(O) road”
“(O) work”
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-11
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.2.5 Declension-Paradigm notation. All second declension neuter
nouns are designated as n-2c. This designation differentiates between
masculine (n-2a) and feminine (n-2b) nouns of the same declension.
7.2.6 Agreement. When a modifier, such as a Greek article modifies
second declension neuter nouns, it too is neuter. The reason is for
grammatical concord, as for masculine and feminine nouns (cf. §7.1.2).
Therefore, grammatical discord like  or  will never be
encountered in NTGreek, since the noun’s gender is neuter and the article,
masculine. Only the masculine article may modify masculine substantives,
and the neuter article, neuter substantives. Note that there is no distinction
in the article form in the genitive and dative singular and plural forms.
7.2.7 Second declension neuter paradigms. The following four
paradigms are further examples of second declension neuter nouns. The
neuter article is properly shown with its inflected noun, agreeing in gender,
number and case, in both the singular and the plural.
Listen
(child)  + case ending
n-2c
Singular
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Listen





Plural





(gift)  + case ending
n-2c
Singular
Plural
Nominative









() 
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-12
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Listen
(temple)  + case ending
n-2c
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Listen
Singular





Plural





(Sabbath)  + case ending
n-2c
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Singular
Plural










A comprehensive list of all second declension neuter nouns is available.
For this list, please consult the study aids for this lesson.
7.2.8 Parsing neuter nouns. When a neuter nominative, accusative, or
vocative singular or plural form is encountered, it is best to parse the noun
by citing all possibilities. The importance of this comes into play when
determining whether a neuter noun is either functioning as the subject
(nominative) or direct object (accusative) of the verb. If an erroneous
assumption is made that a neuter form is the subject when in fact it is the
direct object, the translation will be in error. However, if you are
accustomed to parsing the form as “nominative/vocative/accusative”, you
will be less likely to make this mistake. A few parsing examples follow.
 - neut. nom./acc./voc. sg. of , n-2c, “gift”
 - neut. nom./acc./voc. pl. of , n-2c, “gift”
 - neut. nom./acc./voc. sg. of , n-2c, “Sabbath”
 - neut. nom./acc./voc. pl. of , n-2c, “Sabbath”
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-13
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.3 Second Declension Paradigm Overview
Greek nouns fall into one of three declensions that may be subdivided into
paradigms within each declension. When the second declension feminine
and neuter paradigms from this lesson are added to the masculine
paradigm of Lesson Six, we may designate these as three separate
paradigms within the same declension for easier notation.
Listen
n-2a
Singular
Plural
Nominative 
Genitive 
Dative 
Accusative 
Vocative or 
Listen





Singular
Genitive 
Dative 
Accusative 
Vocative 
Plural





Nominative 
Genitive 
Dative 
Accusative 
Vocative 
•
•
•
n = noun (part of speech)
2 = second declension
a = paradigm “a”
Almost all masculine nouns in
the second declension follow
the n-2a paradigm (cf. §7.3.1).
The abbreviation n-2b
represents the following:
•
•
•
n = noun (part of speech)
2 = second declension
b = paradigm “b”
Almost all feminine nouns in
the second declension follow
the n-2b paradigm (cf. §7.3.1).
n-2c
n-2c
Singular
The abbreviation n-2a
represents the following:
n-2b
n-2b
Nominative 
Listen
n-2a
Plural




() 
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
The abbreviation n-2c
represents the following:
•
•
•
n = noun (part of speech)
2 = second declension
c = paradigm “c”
All neuter nouns declined in
the second declension follow
the n-2c paradigm pattern.
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-14
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.3.1 Irregular second declension forms. Only four NTGreek irregular
second declension masculine and feminine nouns do not fall into one of
the above classifications. Because of their irregularity and infrequent
usage in NTGreek, they are not included in this study of second declension
nouns. For an explanation of these paradigms, see The Morphology of
Biblical Greek by Wm. D. Mounce, pages 188-190). These irregular
second declension forms are designated in Mounce’s work as n-2d
( and ) and n-2e ( and ).
7.4 Review of Second Declension Nouns
We have come to the end of our study of second declension nouns. It
would be prudent to review briefly key fundamentals of the declension.
7.4.1 Second declension stems. Second declension nouns, whether
masculine, feminine or neuter, are composed of a stem that terminates
with an omīkron, with case endings appended. As discussed before, in
some cases contraction or monophthongization occurs.
 = + etc.
feminine noun  = + etc.
neuter noun  =  + etc.
masculine noun
Second Declension
Stems of second declension nouns remain constant and are based upon
the nominative singular. This is the reason the lexical form of all nouns is
their nominative singular. Whereas the case endings determine the noun’s
function, the stem contains the basic meaning of the word. Therefore, it is
essential to recognize the stem of a noun.
Singular and Plural Nouns
Stem
Paradigm
Gender



n-2a
Masculine



n-2b
Feminine



n-2c
Neuter
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-15
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.4.2 Lexical form. Without exception, the lexical gender determines the
gender of a noun in the second declension, as well as in all declensions. If
the article is memorized with the noun when it is first encountered in the
vocabulary, this will resolve possible future confusion. For instance, it is
impossible to know whether ,  or  are masculine,
feminine or neuter dative plural by form alone. Therefore, the only means
to know the gender of any noun, no matter what declension, is to know its
lexical gender!
7.4.3 Second declension case endings. The case endings for second
declension nouns are exemplified in the following master charts.
Singular
Cases
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
Plural
Cases
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
n-2a
masculine
n-2b
feminine
n-2c
neuter




 or 




 or 





n-2a
masculine
n-2b
feminine
n-2c
neuter















The above case endings for second declension nouns must be thoroughly
learned and committed to memory. The study aids accompanying this
lesson augment and will help to reinforce the learning process.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-16
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.4.4 Case Formation. The following notes concerning case formation
are germane to second declension nouns.
7.4.41 The nominative singular stem is the base stem to which all other
case forms are appended. This is the reason why it is the lexical form for
all nouns. The vocalic nominative stem for second declension nouns is
omīkron.
Second Declension Masculine Nouns
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Singular
Plural
+ 
+ = 
+ 
+ 
(contraction)
(absorption)
+ = 
+ 
(contraction)
Accusative
+ 
+  = 
(compensation)
Vocative
+
+ 
(replacement)
Feminine nouns are analogous to their masculine counterparts.
Second Declension Feminine Nouns
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Singular
Plural
+ 
+ = 
+ 
+ 
(contraction)
(absorption)
+ = 
+ 
(contraction)
Accusative
+ 
+  = 
(compensation)
Vocative
+ 
+ 
(replacement)
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-17
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Neuter second declension noun case endings do not share the masculine
and feminine case endings in all instances.
Second Declension Neuter Nouns
Nominative
Singular
Plural
+ 
+ 
(absorption)
Genitive
Dative
+ = 
+ 
(contraction)
(absorption)
+ = 
+ 
(contraction)
Accusative
+ 
+ 
(absorption)
Vocative
+ 
+ 
(absorption)

7.4.42 The second declension genitive singular is actually omīkron.
However, the stem vowel and the genitive singular case in all three
genders contracts to form . This is the reason the genitive singular is
not cited as simply  (as in most Greek grammars). It is better to learn the
correct formation now, than to unlearn something wrong later!
In the charts below, all three genders are represented in the genitive
singular in the right-hand column. The first three columns represent the
progression of the genitive’s formation, beginning with the noun’s stem and
progressing through the stem’s vowel contraction with the case ending.
Genitive Masculine Singular Second Declension Nouns
Stem
Genitive Singular
Combination
Contracted Final Form

+ 



+ 



+ 


© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-18
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Genitive Feminine Singular Second Declension Nouns
Stem
Genitive Singular
Combination
Contracted Final Form

+ 



 + 




 + 
Genitive Neuter Singular Second Declension Nouns
Stem
Genitive Singular
Combination
Contracted Final Form

 + 



+ 



+ 


7.4.43 The dative masculine and neuter singular is actually the stem +
iōta, the case ending. In every instance in NTGreek, the stem vowel and
case ending () becomes the improper diphthong, . At some time
during the morphological development of this case ending, the stem vowel,
omīkron, lengthened to ōmega, with the iōta was retained as an iōta
subscript. The process is called “monophthongization”. This term comes
from  (“only” or “single”) +  (“sound”).
Dative Masculine Singular Second Declension Nouns
Stem
Genitive Singular
Combination
Contracted Final Form

+ 



+ 



+ 


Dative Neuter Singular Second Declension Nouns
Stem
Genitive Singular
Combination
Contracted Final Form

 + 



+ 



+ 


© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-19
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.4.44 The vocative masculine and feminine singular may either be a
separate case form or identical to the nominative masculine and feminine
singular form with the article. The nominative and vocative masculine and
feminine plural case endings are always identical. There is not a different
vocative form for the neuter nominative and vocative singular or plural.
Nominative and Vocative Masculine Second Declension Forms
Nominative Singular
Nominative Plural
Vocative Singular
Vocative Plural


 or 



 or 



or 

Nominative and Vocative Feminine Second Declension Forms
Nominative Singular
Nominative Plural
Vocative Singular
Vocative Plural


or 



 or 



 or  
Nominative and Vocative Neuter Second Declension Forms
Nominative Singular



Nominative Plural



Vocative Singular
Vocative Plural






7.4.45 The neuter nominative, vocative, and accusative singular forms in
the second declension are identical. When parsing these forms without a
context, include all three possibilities.
Neuter Nominative
Neuter Vocative
Neuter Accusative









© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-20
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.4.46 The neuter nominative and accusative plural forms are identical in
the second declension. When parsing these forms without a context,
include both possibilities. The alpha irregularly absorbs the stem vowel.
The pronunciation of the alpha is ALWAYS short.
Neuter Nominative Plural
Neuter Accusative Plural






7.4.47 Second declension masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns have
the same case endings in the genitive, dative and accusative singular.
Masculine

Dative 
Accusative 
Genitive
Feminine



Neuter



7.4.48 Second declension masculine, feminine and neuter nouns have the
same case endings in the genitive and dative plural.
Masculine

Dative 
Genitive
Feminine


Neuter


7.4.49 Whether by monophthongization in the dative singular form (), or
by adding the dative plural form () to the noun’s stem, the iōta is always
present in masculine, feminine and neuter case endings in second
declension nouns.
Dative Singular
Masculine Nouns
Feminine Nouns
Neuter Nouns
Dative Plural
 


 
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-21
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.5 Flow Chart For Second Declension Nouns
Before learning NTGreek, most students had never heard about
declensions, paradigms, cases, and inflection—much less study them! All
new fields of study require learning special, and sometimes, technical
terms in order to communicate ideas within that discipline.
Language study is no different.
Sometimes, a person can consult a dictionary to learn
about new terms. Illustrations on the other hand are more
suited to show relationships and overviews. The flowchart below illustrates
the simplicity for determining the paradigm a second declension noun will
follow. These paradigms represent 100% of all second declension nouns.
Explanation for the shift of accents will be studied in Lesson Ten.
99.999 percent of all
second declension nouns
What v owel terminates
the nominativ e stem?
Unc ontracted Omik ron
Contrac ted Omik ron
Does the nominative singular
Label
end with sigma?
Yes
N-2A Masculine
 
 

 

If the nominativ e stem
ends with eo or oo, then
No
N-2C Neuter
  
   
  
  
  
N-2D (Representative)

 

 
If the nominativ e stem
ends with omega, then
OR
N-2B Feminine



 
 
Mas culine and feminine s ec ond
declens ion endings are identic al.
The lexic al gender m us t be
learned as part of v oc abulary.
Gender cannot be predicted.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
N-2E





Occ urs only
in the s ingular
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-22
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.6 NTGreek Study Tools
It is necessary to acquire several NTGreek language study tools. The
primary language tool is the Greek New Testament. There are several
editions available. Secondly, you need to purchase a Greek-English
lexicon for the New Testament. Neither of these tools is inexpensive,
however, they are mandatory to read the Greek New Testament.
The Greek New Testament
Format: Hardcover, 4th ed., 918pp.
ISBN: 3438051109
Publisher: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
Publication Date: July 2001
To drink directly from the source, this is the perfect text for
reading the Greek New Testament.
Order from Barnes & Noble.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
Format: Hardcover, 1108 pages
Edited and revised by Frederick William Danker, 2000
Based upon Walter Bauer’s lexicon.
Perhaps the single most important lexical innovation of
this edition is its inclusion of extended definitions for
Greek terms. Such extended definitions give a fuller
sense of the word in question, which will help avoid
both anachronisms and confusion.
Enhancements to the print edition are exploited in the digital version to
provide even greater benefits to students of NTGreek. The software extra
adds unprecedented functionality to this already invaluable reference tool.
A specialized search dialog enables the user to refine a lexical search by
limiting it to specific fields within the text. This has the effect of narrowing
the results that are returned, allowing the user to get better information
more quickly.
Order from Amazon.com
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-23
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7.7 Vocabulary Study
The special mark (√) before a Greek word, denotes that the word appeared
in a previous vocabulary study, and that the new vocabulary word is a
compound form of it. The Greek language expresses a freedom in forming
words by composition. As a jest, the comedian Aristophanes composed a
compound word with seventy-eight syllables (Aristophanes. Eccl. 1160). In
addition, syllabification, transliteration, and declension-paradigm notation is
supplied where applicable, as well as special notes.
Vocabulary Word
Meaning

Stem: 
abyss

Stem: 

√ 
archangel

Stem: 
Part of Speech
noun
(a-bys-sos) n-2b
noun
(ar-chan-ge-los) n-2a
This noun is a compound of  and . An
archangel is perhaps a spiritual being of the highestranking angelic order. Michael is one of them (Jude 9).
scroll, book, record-book
noun
 (bi-blos) n-2b
For centuries, the Torah was designated as ,
and is the basis for the English term, “Bible”.

Stem: 
dialect, language

Stem: 
gift

Stem: 
work, deed, action

Stem: 
good news, gospel

Stem: 
death
noun
 (di-a-le-ktos) n-2b
noun
 (dō-ron) n-2c
noun
 (er-gon) n-2c
noun
 (eu-an-ge-li-on) n-2c
noun
 (tha-na-tos) n-2a
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-24
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary Word
Meaning
Part of Speech

Stem: 
(wild) animal, beast

Stem: 
temple

Stem: 
road, way, journey, conduct

Stem: 
heaven
noun
 (thē-rí-on) n-2c
noun
 (hi-e-ron) n-2c
noun
 (ho-dos) n-2b
noun
 (ou-ra-nos) n-2a
Be sure always to translate the noun as a singular when
it is a singular, and a plural when it is a plural. To assert
that an author used the plural in an idiomatic manner (as
many posit), and therefore should be translated as a
singular in English is, putting it kindly, hyperbole.

Stem: 
crowd, throng

Stem: 
Sabbath, week

Stem: 
child
noun
 (o-chlos) n-2a
noun
 (sab-ba-ton) n-2c
noun
 (te-knon) n-2c
Noun is in relation to father and mother. The sex of the
child can only be made clear by context. When used in
the vocative, it is an affectionate address.

O!
interjection
 (ō)
The interjection may occur before the nominative when it
substitutes for the vocative, and before the vocative form.
It is never used when calling upon God as in .
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-25
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7
Study Guide
The Second Declension (Module B)
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
Morphology: The Nominal System (Part 2)
Exercise One: True or False. Select the correct answer. Be careful
because all of the answer has to be correct in order for it to be true.
1. A substantive’s declension is determined by its stem termination,
whether with a vowel (first and second declension) or a consonant
(third declension). True
False
2. All word stems ending with the vowel alpha belong to the second
declension. True False
3. The great majority of second declension nouns are masculine and
feminine. True False
4. Feminine nouns are inflected in the same way that masculine nouns
are in the second declension. True False
5. The lexical form of second declension feminine nouns is the genitive
singular form. True
False
6. When the article modifies second declension feminine nouns, they
can be either feminine or masculine. True
False
7. The neuter nominative and accusative plurals are identical in their
inflection. True False
8. It is possible to know the case of  apart from knowing any
context. True False
9. The stem of a noun remains constant and what remains after any
case endings are removed. True False
10. The genitive singular in all three genders of second declension
nouns is actually omīkron that contracts with the stem vowel
omīkron to form the genitive case ending . True
False
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-26
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Exercise Two: Multiple choice. Choose the best answer.
1. The second declension contains nouns of what gender?
a masculine and neuter
c masculine, feminine, and neuter
b masculine and feminine
d feminine and neuter
2. The neuter article agrees in case, gender, and number with what nouns
in the second declension?
a masculine and feminine nouns
c only masculine nouns
b masculine and neuter nouns
d none of the above
3. Which of the following is correct because of grammatical concord?


a  


c
b


d
4. Which of the following forms would you expect to be the lexical form of
a feminine noun belonging to the second declension?


a



c
b



d
5. Which cases of second declension neuter nouns are identical
with masculine forms in both the singular and the plural?
a nominative and vocative
c genitive and nominative
b accusative and nominative
d genitive and dative
6. The lexical entry exhibits what important information?
a nominative singular
c genitive singular
b lexical gender
d all of the above
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-27
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
7. What determines a noun’s function?
a sentence order
c. case endings and context
b lexical form
d grammatical concord
8. In which case does monophthongization occur?
a nominative plural
c genitive plural
b dative singular
daccusative singular
9. Which vowel is the stem vowel for second declension feminine
nouns?
a omīkron
c ōmega
bēta
dalpha
10. Which vowel is the stem vowel for second declension masculine
nouns?
a omīkron
c ōmega
bēta
dalpha
11. Which vowel is the stem vowel for second declension neuter nouns?
a omīkron
c ōmega
bēta
dalpha
12. The proper declension-paradigm notation for  is
an-2a
c n-2c
b n-2b
d n-2d
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-28
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
Exercise Three: Fill in the blank.
1. Supply the case endings and articles for the second declension nouns.
a.
 (Lord, lord, master)
Singular
Article
Cases
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
b.





Plural
Noun
__
__
__
__
__
Article





__
__
__
__
__
 (road, way, journey, conduct)
Singular
Article
Cases
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative
c.
Noun





Plural
Noun
__
__
__
__
__
Article





Noun
__
__
__
__
__
 (work, deed, action)
Singular
Article
Cases
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Vocative





Plural
Noun
__
__
__
__
__
Article





© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
Noun
__
__
__
__
__
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-29
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
road, way, journey




































Word
Case
nom/voc
Gender
feminine
Num
singular
Decl
n-2b
Lexical Form
Definition
2. Parse the following forms. Include all possibilities in your parsing.
© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
NTGreek In Session
Lesson 7: The Second Declension (Module B)
7-30
Feminine and Neuter Nouns
________________________________________________________________
3. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the Greek article.
Singular
Plural
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter




Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative




















4. Supply the correct Greek article before each of the following nouns.
Article
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.















Noun















Article
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.















© 1996 – 2014 by William Ramey The Nominal System (Part 2)
Noun















NTGreek In Session